I’m going to start this story off with two questions.  FIRST QUESTION:  Do You know what a vernal pool is??  If you answered NO – move to SECOND QUESTION:  Have you ever heard of a vernal pool??  If you answered NO, to both, ‘WELCOME’ to the club!!! 

It wasn’t until I became involved with Open Space, meeting and joining various groups, with interests in Wildlife, Conservation and the Environment, that I was eventually, introduced to the words vernal pool!!  ‘KINDA WONDERING’ just what my first thoughts were, when posed that very question?? MAYBE, bathing suit, towel, sun bathing, snorkel, goggles etc. etc.  I’M SURE my thoughts were nothing like the photos shown here!! 

All kidding aside, the VERNAL POOL STORY, actually, is an important story, an important story, from two perspectives, first and obviously, informing you about vernal pools as special ecosystems!!  The second perspective is less obvious, AND, it is not restricted to just our story’s topic, it concerns the concepts of ‘AWARENESS & STEWARDSHIP’ it is about, trying to re-shape or re-program our ways of assessing ‘true value’!!  Many lose sight of ‘true value’, through either their visual misconceptions AND/OR a lack of knowledge about what they are looking at!!  It is my hope this Photo of the Week story will shed some light to these concepts.

STORY BEHIND PHOTO OF THE WEEK:  When I decided to do Vernal Pools as my story, figured, I better get some up to date photos.  I remembered my many visits to N. J. Audubon’s, Wattles Stewardship Center in Mansfield, NJ  A 51 acre Wildlife Sanctuary and home to the Audubon’s Northwest Stewardship Program Staff, which is located in a beautiful old farmhouse.  The site is dedicated to blend Environmental Awareness, Wildlife Habitat and Agriculture for a wonderful visitor experience AND they have a Vernal Pool!!!  I’m off, HINT – great place for a visit, trails through woods, farmlands and along the Musconetcong River – Nationally designated Wild & Scenic Partner River!!  Leaving Wattles, remembered, Allamuchy School has a vernal pool in their Allamuchy School’s Environmental Education Area!!  What a wonderful setting for our students amid 50 acres of Open Space, with a trail through woodlands, along farm fields and passing by a vernal pool.

WHAT IS A VERNAL POOL:

Vernal Pools are seasonal depressional wetlands that occur under the Mediterranean climate conditions of the West Coast and in glaciated areas of northeastern and midwestern states.  Called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, they are seasoned pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals.  They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, thus allowing safe development of natal amphibian and insect species, unable to withstand competition or predation by fish.  (Certain tropical fish lineages have however adapted to this habitat specially.)  The pools may be surrounded by many communities/species including deciduous forest, grassland, lodgepole pine forest, blue oak woodland, sagebrush steppe, succulent coastal scrub and prairie.

Most pools are dry for at least part of the year, and fill with the winter rains, spring snowmelts and rising water tables.  Some pools may remain at least partially filled with water over the course of a year or more, but all vernal pools dry up periodically.  Typically, though, a vernal pool has three phases each year, inundated phase, flowering phase and dry phase.  It is inundated in the winter, it dries slowly during spring and then dries completely during the summer.  Vernal pools favor native species because many non-native species cannot tolerate the extreme seasonal changes in environmental conditions. 

The name vernal pools comes from the fact they are often, though not necessarily, at maximum depth in the spring (“vernal” meaning, relating to or occurring in spring)  There are many local names for such pools, depending upon what part of the world they are in.  They may form in forests, but they are more typically associated with grasslands and rocky plains or basins.  While many vernal pools are only a few meters in width, playas and prairie potholes are usually much larger, but still are otherwise similar in many respects.

WILDLIFE:  Despite being dry at times, vernal pools teem with life when filled.  They serve as critical breeding grounds for many amphibian and invertebrate species.  The most obvious inhabitants are various species of breeding frogs and toads.  Some salamanders also utilize vernal pools for reproduction, but the adults may visit the pool only briefly.  Other notable inhabitants are Daphnia and fairy shrimp, the latter often used as an indicator species to decisively define a vernal pool.  Other indicator species, at least in New England are the wood frog, the spadefoot toad and some species of mole salamanders.  Notably, as stated above, vernal pools are fishless, due to their ephemeral nature.  Certain plant species are also associated with vernal pools, although the particular species depends upon the ecological region.

OBSERVATIONS:  Remember earlier in my introduction, I mentioned the VERNAL POOL STORY had two perspectives??!!  The following information applies to the Second Perspective – the concept of ‘AWARENESS & STEWARDSHIP!!

LOSS OF HABITAT:  Vernal pools have a distinct collection of flora and fauna, in some cases, aren’t found anywhere else in the world!  Despite this fact, worldwide, vernal pools have been in decline.  The major threats to vernal pool habitats are agriculture, urbanization, changes in hydrology and improperly managed grazing by livestock. While the vernal pools in our area for the most part are usually very small in size, remember, they serve important functions in many various ways, for the large scale surrounding ecosystems.  Don’t let their lack of size and what I will call ‘an unkept look’ within their surroundings give rise to the false notion (THEY ARE NOT IMPORTANT)  I will again refer you back to our Photos connected to this story – not exactly something I would put on a postcard!!  BUT, you need to see what they look like for a better understanding.

IMPORTANT NOTE: A good rule of thumb, Something or Someplace, should not need to be beautiful to JUSTIFY it being relevant and important!  IT SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD FOR WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT DOES!!! 

Information about vernal pools

Link to N.J. Audubon’s Wattles Stewardship Center

Enjoy Your Open Space!!  Remember common sense and social distancing on any and all your visits.

Charlie Fineran

Charlie Fineran is Allamuchy’s Director of Open Space, Allamuchy Township Environmental Commission Chairman and Allamuchy Historical Society President.